Anchorage—The Bureau of Land Management announced today that the Detailed Statement of Sale for the Dec. 7 National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) oil and gas lease sale is available at http://www.blm.gov/ak. The BLM will open sealed bids for the lease sale on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 1 p.m. at the Anchorage Federal Building, Denali Room, 222 W 7th Ave., Anchorage, AK. Sealed bids must be received by 4:00 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5, 2011 at the BLM-Alaska State Office.The BLM will offer 283 tracts comprising approximately 3,060,176 acres in this sale. Additional details on the sale are available in today’s Federal Register. Currently there are 169 authorized oil and gas leases totaling about 1.3 million acres within the Northeast and Northwest planning areas of the NPR-A# # #
The BLM manages 253 million acres – more land than any other federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including 75 million acres in Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.